Brussels, 29/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Monday following the international conference in Tokyo on the reconstruction of Afghanistan (21-22 January), EU Foreign Affairs Ministers welcomed the results they had obtained and reiterated the Union's commitment to playing a significant role in the reconstruction of the country and supporting the political agreement concluded at Bonn. In addressing the press, Josep Piqué declared that the Union had risen to the challenge and was by far the main donor. He emphasised the need to continue supporting the interim authority and added that Hamid Karzai and his government enjoyed a level of appreciation that was very positive within the Council.
Speaking on behalf of the European Commission, Chris Patten, Commissioner for External Relations explained that in meeting 25% of the international community's commitments, the Commission and Member States had kept their word (see EUROPE 23 January page 11). Commissioner Patten added that they were going to push other donors into playing as constructive role as that played by the EU. According to Mr Patten, the important thing was to turn words into deeds in an effort to deliver the promised assistance as soon as possible. Next month's opening of Commission representative offices in Kabul and the imminent dispatching of approximately EUR 65 million to fund the first phase of the projects that aim to deal with the most pressing problems, will provides part of the response to this worry. Approval by Member States of this amount is expected this week and should allow the Commission to make funds available in the next few days.